Improved mode of constructing lightning-rods



HAMILTON & STEVENS.

Lightning Rod. No. 86,151. Patented Jah. 26, 1869.

G. B. HAMILTON, OF WELLINGTON, AND J. S. STEVENES, OF CLEVE- LAND, OHIO.

Letters Patent No. 86,151, dated January 26, 1869; antedated July 27,1868.

IIVIPROVED MODE OF CONSTRUCTING- nmn'rnmenons.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, G. B. HAMILTON, ofWellington, in the county of Lorain, and State of Ohio, and J. S.STEVENES, of Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga, and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ConstructingLightning-Rods; and we do hereby declare that the following is a fulland complete description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which-Figure 1 is a view of the rod.

Figure 2 is an end view of the same.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts.

Our improvement relates to a rod, consisting of galvanized wires,forminga continuous strand from one end to the other, which may be usedin combination with copper wires in the ordinary manner.

This rod consists of eight wires or strands, four of I which are ofgalvanized zinc-iron, A, fig. 1, and the other four of smaller wire, butof copper, B, and which are arranged in the order as shown in fig. 2.The whole is then twisted together, as represented in fig. 1.

This number and arrangement of wires, and also the combination of thetwo kinds of metal, we are aware, have been used for this purpose, butthose rods heretofore constructed have been more or less defective, forthe reason that the strands comprising the rod have not always beenentire, or continuous, there being no real connection of the two ends ofone or more of the wires, as the case may he, of which the rod is madeup, but the two ends are simply placed as closely together as may be,and then continued to the end, when another wire is introduced asbefore, and so on to the completion of the rod. This lack of continuityor entirety of each undivided wire, offers an obstruction to the freeand direct passage of the electric current, as there is at times noactual contact of the two ends of the wire; hence the rod is defectivemore or less, according to the number of joints in the wires of the rod.In order to obviate this defect, and thereby make a more complete orperfect rod, we place the two ends of the galvanized wires together, andthen weld them, thus making the joints of the two as solid and entire asis any other part of the wire, so that on inspection no joints can bediscovered, the union of the two ends being so complete. This continuityof the separate wires of which the rod is made up, makes the rod asperfect as though each wire were originally of one piece.

The strands being galvanized, prevents oxidation of the iron, causing itto resist the action of he weather better than the usual wire, and thuskeeping the rod in better condition for a conduct-or than those ofordinary construction.

This rod may be constructed of any desired number of copper and ironstrands, or of galvanized iron alone, if thought advisable.

In order to effect the welding of previously-galvanized or coated ironwire, we remove the coating with acids, as sulphuric or muriatic, or itmay be done in the diifused flame of the fire. The welding. process isthen accomplished in the usual manner, after which we recoat the partfrom which the coating had been removed. This is done by cleaning withacid, and dipping the part to be coated into melted metal, or by ladlingthe melted metal upon it until a perfect coat is given.

What we claim as our invention. and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-- The herein-described method of welding wire that has'beenpreviously galvanized, by first removing the covering of soft metal,then welding and again recoating, as described, so as to form continuousstrands in cable-wire for lightning-rods, and effecting the union of theseveral galvanized strands, in the construction of rods, as set forth.

G. B. HAMILTON. J. S. STEVENES. Witnesses:

W. H. BURRIDGE, E. E. WAITE.

